Read Sapphire: New Horizons Online

Authors: Heather Brooks

Sapphire: New Horizons (4 page)

It was time to jump.

E
mily bit her lip, her heart starting to pound. She'd never jumped anything before, other than trotting over a rail lying on the ground. It had never even occurred to her to jump. “You could put it higher if you want. Like what Alison was jumping.”

A faint smile played across Aunt Debby's face. “Why don't we start with the cross rail and then move on?”

“Okay.” Emily felt a glimmer of excitement as she gathered up her reins and nudged Moondance into a trot. She looked ahead to the jump, planning out her line of approach. As she turned right toward the jump and straightened Moondance out so the mare wasn't coming at the jump from an angle, Aunt Debby called
out more instructions.

“Grab onto Moondance's mane when you get near the jump. It'll help until you get used to the movement.”

Grab her mane?
Like some inexperienced rider? No way. Emily pressed down her heels, lifted her chin, and moved into half-seat as they approached, setting her hands
on
the mane, but not actually
grabbing
the mane because she was far too good for
that
.

Moondance trotted up to the jump, pricked her ears, and did a little hop with her front legs to go over it.

“Whoa!” Emily lost her balance, almost fell over backward, then crashed face-first into Moondance's mane when they landed on the other side. Moondance landed in a canter, and Emily grabbed her mane to keep from falling off and landing on her head. She wiggled her way back into her saddle, bracing her hands on Moondance's neck to shove herself in place, then she grabbed the reins and eased Moondance back to a trot.

She slipped a sideways glance at Aunt Debby, her face hot with embarrassment. “I'm better than that.”

“Emily, it's not a problem. It's a new experience to jump. I'm not worried.”

“Oh.” Emily felt better. “Okay, then. Again?”

Aunt Debby sat down on one of the bigger jumps.
“Again. Hold the mane this time.”

“Yeah, okay.” This time, Emily grabbed Moondance's mane just before the mare hopped over the jump, and though Emily got left behind again, it wasn't nearly as bad because she was yanked forward by her grip on the mane.

She grinned at her aunt as Moondance cantered after the jump. “That is
so fun
.”

Aunt Debby smiled. “Well, do it again.”

This time, as they approached the jump, Emily held tight and kept up with Moondance as the mare flew into the air. They landed, and Emily let out a small whoop of excitement that made Moondance do a little jig. “Did you see that? We were airborne!”

Aunt Debby laughed. “I take it you like jumping?”

“It's awesome! Can I go again?”

“Of course. This time, keep on cantering and jump the vertical that's after the crossbar.”

Emily's heart thumped as she inspected the red-and-white-striped bar stretched between the two wooden standards. It was about a foot high and looked extremely impressive. “Just canter it?”

“Yep. Count the strides after you land from the crossbar, including the landing. It should take six steps to reach it, but definitely hold the mane.”

“Oh,
yeah.
” Her heart racing now, Emily trotted Moondance toward the crossbar, grabbed the mane, and soared through the air with her. She counted the strides out loud with her aunt as they cantered down the line, holding Moondance straight between her legs. “Land, one, two, three, four, five, six—”

Moondance leaped into the air, and Emily forgot to grab the mane. Her upper body went flying backward, totally left behind, and then she jerked forward when Moondance landed, shooting over the mare's shoulder and crashing to the soft dirt by Moondance's front feet.

Moondance stopped immediately and turned her head to peer at her while Emily rolled to her knees, her heart racing as she caught her breath after the tumble.

Aunt Debby was by her side immediately. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” Emily grinned, unable to suppress her glee. Jumping was so exhilarating. So freeing! “This is so much fun!”

Her aunt smiled and rapped her knuckles on Emily's helmet. “Well, have a go again, then. I'll give you a leg up.”

“Right on.” Emily hopped to her feet, brushed off her breeches, and walked over to Moondance. She bent
her left knee, lifting her foot off the ground so it was pointing behind her, and Aunt Debby clasped her fingers under Emily's knee.

“On three. One, two, three!” She hoisted Emily up and Emily hopped at the same time, and she flew up and swung her leg over Moondance's back.

She settled in the saddle, gathered her reins, and picked up a trot again.

“This time, hold on to her mane.”

“Got it.” Emily wrapped her fingers in Moondance's mane as they approached, grinning as she leaped over the crossbar and headed toward the vertical. “Land, one, two, three, four, five, six!” She held tight to her mane as the horse sprang into the air and still got a little left behind, but not nearly as badly because she was gripping the mane so tightly. She glanced at Aunt Debby as they cantered after the jump. “What am I doing wrong? Why am I getting left behind?”

“Nothing, you're doing great. It just takes a while to get used to the movement of jumping. You'll get the feel of it.”

“Okay.” Emily had new appreciation for the size of the jumps Alison had been going over. They'd been at least three times as big, and Alison hadn't had any problem. How fun would it be to jump that high? She
couldn't
wait
until she got that good. “When do I get to jump higher jumps?”

Aunt Debby laughed. “Why don't we master this level first?”

“I don't care if I fall off.”

“Well, I do, and you should, too.” Her hands went to her hips, and the smile was replaced by a bit of a scowl. “It's important to master the basics before you move on. Otherwise you can end up endangering yourself and the horse. In my barn, I expect you to be responsible with the horses at all times, which means not taking crazy risks like going over jumps you don't have the skills to handle.”

Emily winced at the serious tone in her aunt's voice. “Okay,” she quickly said. “This height is fine.”

“Good. Now do it again.”

Emily did it again. And again. And again.

And it never stopped being a thrill when she had that moment in the air before Moondance thudded back to the ground. It was, quite simply, the coolest thing she'd ever done on a horse.

Not that she was going to turn into a jumper, because the discipline of dressage was, of course, her thing, but there was something about jumping that was so unbelievably exhilarating, and she couldn't
wait
until she could go fast and race against the clock.

After about a half hour of jumping, Emily finally figured out the rhythm of the jump and managed to keep up with Moondance most of the time, though she still held on to the mane at takeoff. Each time she thought about letting go, she got left behind again and realized she wasn't ready.

Soon, though. She was so determined to master jumping before she left. She knew her jumping experience wouldn't truly be complete until she got to do it on Sapphire. When Aunt Debby looked at her watch and announced it was time to stop, Emily was so disappointed. “Already?”

Aunt Debby smiled, a real smile that didn't make her brow get all furrowed. “We've been out here for almost an hour.”

“Seriously?” Emily glanced at her watch and was amazed to see it was almost nine thirty. “Wow.”

“We'll practice more tomorrow.”

“On Sapphire?” Emily held her breath as she circled Moondance around Aunt Debby, her reins loose and relaxed to let Moondance cool down.

“I'm sorry, Emily. I know you really like him, but he's a bit difficult, especially over the jumps. He's my
special project and you're not ready to ride him yet.”

Emily bit her lip. “But soon?”

Aunt Debby started to head toward the gate. “We'll see.”

Shoot. That was adult-speak for “never.” “Why is he your special project? Alison said you're going to sell him.” She trailed along after Aunt Debby, patting Moondance for being such a good girl.

Aunt Debby opened the gate and met Emily's gaze. “That's what we do here, Em. I buy horses with potential that have issues, either training issues or health issues. Then I try to fix them and sell them for a profit. Sapphire was a bargain and he's a beautiful horse, so I'm planning to make a nice profit from him.”

Emily bit her lip. “Why don't you keep him?”

“Because it's not how the farm works. We don't keep them.”

“But he's special—”

“Emily.” Aunt Debby set her hand on Emily's knee, her eyes sympathetic. “Sapphire isn't going to stay, okay? He just isn't. I need to sell him.”

“When?”

“When he's ready.” Aunt Debby started walking again.

Emily nudged Moondance out the gate so she could
follow her aunt. “When's that? Tomorrow?”

Aunt Debby finally laughed. “Emily, relax. It'll be a few months, okay?”

“Okay.” A few months. Plenty of time to convince her aunt not to sell him.

“But you're leaving soon. Why does it matter to you?”

Emily felt her face heat up, a little embarrassed to admit how much she liked Sapphire even though she'd just met him. “I was just asking.”

“Mmm.” Aunt Debby held up her watch. “We leave in an hour for the funeral. Don't be late.”

Ugh. A funeral. She'd so much rather be hanging out at the barn. “Yeah, okay.”

Aunt Debby raised her brows. “Don't sound so miserable. It's a good thing to go and honor your Grandfather, even if you didn't get the chance to know him.”

Emily tensed. Her dad was the only one who ever cared about her, and it was weird to think that she had other relatives. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Did you love him?”

Aunt Debby's face softened. “Of course I did. He was my pa.”

“So, how come you don't seem sad? I'd be crying all the time.”

“Because this is how life works. Just like the horses come and go from the farm, people come and go in our lives. We enjoy the good moments, and when we're in the bad ones, we just hang on until things get good again.”

Emily frowned as she thought about that. “So, you're saying, I should just enjoy Sapphire while he's here, and not worry about when he leaves?”

“Sure. You could apply it to that.”

“Huh.” She scratched her chin. “I don't know if that'll work.”

Aunt Debby laughed and patted her leg. “Go clean up Moondance. You don't have much time.”

“Okay.” Emily turned Moondance back toward the barn as she thought about what Aunt Debby had said, trying to decide whether she could really accept being around Sapphire and not riding him.

She'd almost decided she could…but when she walked past his stall with Moondance's tack after putting Moondance away and he stuck his head out and whickered at her…

“Oh, Sapphire.” She dropped the tack on a hay bale and ran over and hugged him. “How can I possibly not ride you?” She unhooked his stall door to slip
inside and play with him and—

“Emily!”

She jumped a mile and leaped back from the door, whirling toward her aunt, who was standing at the end of the aisle. Aunt Debby was wearing a pair of black pants and black boots, and her hair was blown dry, hanging around her shoulders in a soft cut, instead of up in a ponytail. She actually looked pretty.

“I was just—”

Aunt Debby tapped her watch. “We have to leave in fifteen minutes, Emily. You don't have time to be dawdling. Get in the house and change. We can't be late for Pa's funeral.”

Emily grabbed Moondance's tack off the hay bale. “I promise I won't make us late. I can change really quickly.” She hurried past Aunt Debby, pausing when she neared her. “Um, thanks for the lesson. It was awesome.”

Aunt Debby smiled, even though there was a sadness in her eyes. “You're welcome. We'll do another one tomorrow. Now, go change.”

“Right.” Her heart racing at the thought of another jumping lesson tomorrow, Emily tossed Moondance's saddle and bridle in the tack room and sprinted down the aisle toward the house, determined not to upset Aunt Debby by making them late.

E
mily took the fastest shower in history, and her hair was still dripping as she yanked on her skirt and blouse, the only nice clothes she'd brought with her. Her feet still bare, she ran in the bathroom and started blowing dry her hair, watching the time as she went. With three minutes to go, she shut off the hair dryer and bolted into the hall to head to her room. Only tights and shoes and then she'd be ready to go. As she rounded the corner, she saw her two little cousins sprint into her room, slamming the door shut behind them as they squealed.

What was up with that? Emily ran down the hall and shoved open her door to find them hanging out her
window, shouting encouragement at someone. “What's going on?”

Caitlyn glanced back at Emily, her hair pulled back in two French braids with red bows on the ends of them. She was wearing a navy dress with cowboy boots. “Sapphire's out again.”


What
?” Emily ran to the window in time to see Sapphire sprint down the driveway toward the road, his iron-shod feet crunching on the gravel. “Oh,
no
. He's going to get hit by a car!”

Uncle Rick shouted something, and she saw him jump into his truck in his tie and blue jeans and peel down the road after Sapphire while Aunt Debby ran into the barn yelling, “Alison, saddle my horse!”

“This is awesome,” Kyle said as he leaned out the window. “We're going to be late for the funeral. Mom's going to be so mad!”

Emily looked at her watch and held her breath. Two minutes until they were supposed to leave.

Caitlyn frowned at Emily. “Mom said you were the last one in his stall. You didn't lock the stall door, did you?”

“Me? Of course I did.” She hesitated with sudden dread. Had she locked it? She didn't remember. Aunt Debby had showed up and she'd left. Oh,
no
. Had
she really let him out? Emily grabbed her tights and yanked them over her feet, her heart racing. “I'll go help them—”

“Your dad can ride?” Caitlyn sounded shocked.

“Of course he can't.” Emily glanced out the window to see what Caitlyn was talking about, then her jaw dropped open as her dad went charging out of the barn at a dead gallop on a huge dark bay horse. He was perfectly balanced, his hands soft, his body smooth and motionless as he moved easily with the horse. Holy cow! She'd had no idea her dad could ride. Why hadn't he ever told her?

“He's good,” Kyle said as her dad's horse galloped down the driveway, Aunt Debby following close behind him on another horse, yelling something at Emily's dad. She was still wearing her dress-up clothes, and her perfectly blown dry hair was flying behind her as they rode hard after Sapphire. Aunt Debby's body was rigid with fury, and Emily shrank back behind the drapes, wanting to crawl under her bed and never come out. What had she done?

Caitlyn and Kyle leaned farther out, trying to watch the action until all the horses disappeared from sight, then they both turned around to look at Emily. Kyle was grinning. “You're so busted.”

Caitlyn's eyes were wide. “What if we miss the funeral?”

“Or what if Sapphire gets hurt or lost and Mom can't sell him?” Kyle added, a mischievous grin in his eyes. “We'll lose the farm, and it'll be all your fault.”

Emily's stomach churned, and she grabbed her paddock boots and yanked them over her tights. “I'm going to help them. I'll ride Moondance and help get Sapphire. He'll come to me. I know he will.”

Caitlyn's brown eyes became even larger. “Do you have permission to ride on your own yet?”

Emily hesitated. “Not specifically, no. Do I need it?” “Oh, if you don't have permission, you'll be in soooo much trouble if you grab a horse and ride after them.” Caitlyn gave a firm nod. “My mom never messes around when it comes to the horses. She'll ground you.”

Emily frowned. “Ground me?”

“No riding. She did that to Alison just last month. No riding for three weeks.”

“Oh.”
Oh.
Emily hated the thought of not being allowed to ride at all. No chance of riding Sapphire?

Kyle grinned. “You should do it. You're already in trouble anyway, right? What's more trouble?”

Emily hesitated, her stomach lurching. Should she
help? Or hide? She thought of Sapphire racing toward the street and knew she had no choice. “I'm going!”

Kyle gave her a thumbs-up. “Cool.”

Caitlyn shook her head. “Oh…you're going to be soooo sorry. Mom's not going to want you to stay here forever anymore.”

“We aren't staying forever, anyway.” Still in her skirt and tights, with her paddock boots untied, Emily raced out of the room and down the stairs, aware of Caitlyn and Kyle on her heels, jabbering loudly about how much trouble she was in and whether Aunt Debby would cry if they missed Grandpa's funeral.

Emily sprinted into the barn and bolted straight for the tack room, where she grabbed Moondance's tack, sweat dripping down her back underneath her nice white blouse. She jogged down the aisle, lugging the tack with her until she made it to Moondance's stall, with Caitlyn and Kyle still following her.

“So, I bet that Mom sends Emily home tonight,” Kyle said to Caitlyn.

“Tonight? I bet she just grounds her. Makes her do chores for a month,” Caitlyn says. “But she definitely won't let her near the horses. Letting Sapphire out
and
breaking the rules by taking a horse without permission…soooo much trouble.”

Emily glared at them as she opened Moondance's door. “Will you guys please stop talking!”

“It's so much more fun to have you in trouble than me,” Kyle said. “I'll be sad when she sends you home.”

“No, I'm the one who will be sad,” Caitlyn announced. “We never got a chance to play in my fort in the hay barn.”

Emily felt sick as she threw the saddle over Moondance's back. She hated being in trouble.
Hated it
. But what else was she supposed to do? Let Sapphire get hit by a car?

“Oh!” Caitlyn jerked her head around and stared down the aisle. “I think they're back.”

Emily paused and stuck her head out the door, and heard the easy thud of hoofbeats outside the barn. Not galloping. Walking. Then her dad's voice echoed through the barn. “He must have been tired from running around yesterday.”

They'd caught Sapphire already? For a moment, Emily sagged with relief that he'd been brought back so quickly, and it didn't sound like he was hurt.

“It was really helpful having both of us to corner him,” Aunt Debby said. “I'm impressed you can still ride. I thought I was going to have to ground you when I saw you get on that horse and tear out of here
without my permission.”

Her dad snorted. “I can still ride just fine.”

“Barely. I was sure I'd be picking you up off the ground at any second…. Shoot! Look at the time!” Aunt Debby groaned. “I can't believe we're going to be late to Pa's funeral. He'd never forgive us.”

“We're not going to be late,” her dad said firmly. “We'll just hurry.”

“They're coming!” Caitlyn shrieked. “You have to get the tack back before they realize you were going to steal Moondance!” Caitlyn grabbed the bridle, her cheeks flushing with excitement. “We have to beat her back to the tack room.”

“Cool! A race!” Kyle jumped back as Emily threw herself out of the door and shoved it shut, making sure to bolt it carefully. Then she took off down the aisle after Caitlyn, who was waving furiously at her to hurry.

The
thunk
of horse hooves grew closer as they raced back to the tack room. Emily skidded around the corner, tripped on the door threshold, and crashed face-first into the saddle horse in the middle of the room.

Pain shot through her forehead, and she staggered to her feet as Kyle burst into laughter, holding his sides.

“Are you okay?” Caitlyn asked as she jumped up, trying to reach the bridle hook.

“Yeah, sort of.” Blinking against the pain in her head, Emily grabbed the bridle from Caitlyn and threw it on the hook, then hoisted the saddle back onto its rack with a grunt.

Footsteps sounded outside the tack room, and she whirled to face the door as Aunt Debby stuck her head in. She was holding on to Sapphire, his ribs heaving and sweat drenching his neck and chest. His ears flicked forward when Emily saw him, but she didn't dare wave at him.

Her aunt's brow was furrowed, and her lips were in a tight line. Her perfect hairdo was now a mess, and she had horse slobber on her nice black pants. “Emily,” she snapped. “Go outside and grab my horse from your dad. I want him cooled off and in his stall in less than three minutes.” She shot a look at Emily's feet. “And you're not wearing paddock boots to the funeral. Go change. Kyle, go help Alison load up Max, and Caitlyn, go sit in the truck so you don't get any dirtier than you already are.”

“I'm on it.” Emily wiped her sweaty palms on her hands and sprinted past Aunt Debby, patting Sapphire's bum as she ran past, not wanting to be there when Kyle stopped laughing and explained to Aunt Debby what was so funny.

She was in so much trouble; she could tell. How could she have messed up so badly? Aunt Debby would never forgive her.

Ever.

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